FFA News

By: Katelyne Ackley

On May 14, 2011 at the Benjamin Logan annual FFA banquet, the Benjamin Logan FFA inducted four Honorary Degree members. These members were Jodi Lininger, (Benjamin Logan FFA parent), Harold Longbrake, (supporter of the Benjamin Logan FFA), and Mr. Ken Nicole and his wife Cherie Baldwin, (owners of All-Around-Awards).

Lininger has been very supportive and willing to help for the last four years. She has attended National FFA Convention and State FFA Conventions as a chaperone. She has spent many hours at the school helping prepare for events and activities. She has donated time and energy for the sake of all of our members, in order that they could succeed. Mrs. Lininger and her husband Doug have three daughters, one of which is a senior FFA member this year and served as our chapter president last year. Mrs. Lininger has been a great help to the chapter. The Benjamin Logan FFA would like to thank her for her time, energy and support of the Benjamin Logan FFA and its members.… Continue reading

Respectfully Submitted, Dani Sands, Reporter

The week of June 6 to 10, 19 members of the Miami East FFA Chapter attended FFA Camp at Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum. Camp Muskingum is located on Leesville Lake in Carroll County, just south of Carrollton, Ohio.

During the week members competed in many competitions, participated in workshops and team building activities, and met FFA members from across the state.  The FFA members took part in leadership training sessions, which were conducted by the past Ohio FFA State Officers.

While at camp, members donated money towards the “Pie-in-the-Eye” campaign. Advisor Marie Carity took at pie in the eye by graduate David Long. The chapter also purchased a visit by the current State FFA President. All proceeds from the activity will go to the Children’s Hospital.

David Long won the euchre tournament and Lauren Williams placed second in the girl’s division of the shotgun competition.

Those from Miami East attending  David Long, Justin Furrow, Brandon Nales, Corrine Melvin, Heather Skaggs, Jenifer Slone, Kelly Rindler, Colin Hawes, Rebekah Eidemiller, Lauren Williams, Kolin Bendickson, Macaleh Thompson, Chris Long, Mike Shively, Trenton Tigner, Devin Staley, Dalton Allen, Chris Harleman and Robbie Adams.… Continue reading

On May 14^th, 2011 the Benjamin Logan FFA held their 40^th annual chapter banquet. The chapter banquet is a culminating highlight of the year for most FFA chapters.

The banquet provides members the opportunity to work together, use leadership skills gained during the year and showcase chapter and individual accomplishments. The banquet recognizes each of its members for their achievements.

The top ten students of the Fruit Sale Fundraiser were 10^th place: Kelsey Lininger, Hunter Pride, and David Watson 9^th place: Luke Mathys, 8^th place: Jessica Skidmore 7^th place: Joel Penhorwood, 6^th place: Emily Brill, 5^th place: Danny Foulk, 4^th place: Brent Weiss, 3rd place: Tyler Myers, 2^nd place: Jacob Willis and first place went to Bradley Keeran. The Star awards were given to Tyler Myers and Katelyne Ackley, who received the Star Greenhand award. JD Harshfield received the Star in Agribusiness award and Kelsey Lininger received the Star Farmer award.… Continue reading

On Thursday, June 9, the Margaretta FFA Chapter held its annual FFA softball game. This game is open to all members, giving them opportunities to become more active in the FFA. This shows all participants that there is more to FFA than what is in the classroom.

The softball game was held at Windau Field in Castalia. The opposing teams were The Officers and The Members. With The Members taking the lead at the beginning and holding the lead until the end, The Officers never had the opportunity to have the satisfaction of a victory. Even without a victory on their side, they still enjoyed being with their FFA friends.

Having a lack of equipment and experience, the participants learned the value of sharing, making this game even more successful and fun. Halfway through the game, the players enjoyed hamburgers grilled by Mr. Kremer. With the game back on, the players laughed and had a ball as they watched the sentinel, Chris Gysan teach how to bat.… Continue reading

The National Trail FFA Chapter introduced their executive officer team for 2011-2012 at their annual FFA banquet on May 14, 2011. Candidates had to complete an officer application form and then go through an interview process. They were then slated by the interviewing committee and voted on by the chapter members at a regular chapter meeting.

The new 2011-2012 National Trail FFA President is Natalie Morgan!  Natalie is the daughter of Rob and Bonnie Morgan of New Paris.  This years Vice President is Luke Stall!  Luke is the son of Mark and Lisa Stall of New Paris.  The new Treasurer is Cole Fort! Cole is the son of Steve and Barbara Fort of New Paris.  The Reporters position went to Sara Hollingsworth!  Sara is the daughter of Gary Hollingsworth of Eaton and Samantha Alcorn of New Paris.  The 2011-2012 Secretary is Ashley Hines!  Ashley is the daughter of Brian and Julie Hines of Eldorado. … Continue reading

For the first year ever, the National Trail FFA chapter entered a team in the Preble County Relay for Life!  The relay was held at the Preble County fairgrounds.  The relay began June 3^rd at 6 p.m. and ended at noon June 4^th. Team Captain, Kari Cottingim, was joined by the 2011-2012 FFA officer team, two chapter members, and various family members as part of the team “FFA for Life”.

Kari Cottingim came to the NT FFA officer team with an idea of starting a team for the local relay for life.  Many members of the chapter had been affected by cancer so the chapter decided to help fight back.  The NT FFA officer team adopted the event as a team project. Members participating were Kari Cottingim, Tori Biser, Brenden Waddle, Natalie Morgan, Lucas Stall, Ashley Hines, Sara Hollingsworth, Cole Fort, Tyler Blair, Abbie Taylor. Also walking was Cana Bisor, and 2009 graduate Justin Slone and FFA Advisor Joe Slone and various other family members.… Continue reading

During the second semester the Benjamin Logan FFA Chapter has recently been making shop projects. Students will be taking two projects to the fair that members have been working on. They have been working with power tools making picnic tables, shelves, saw horses, and tool boxes. The sophomores have created welding projects such as post pullers, backhoes, and other things students desired to make. Members have learned to stick weld, arc weld, and mig weld.

… Continue reading

By: Jessica Stacy

The Margaretta FFA is proud to announce that they hosted their annual Food For America event. In the previous years the Margaretta FFA chapter has only provided for the 6th graders, but this year the 5th graders joined these festivities.

Many of you may know that Food For America is held by many FFA chapters, but Food For America with Margaretta is particularly unique. Margaretta Local School District has decided to the integrate the upcoming 6th graders into the high school and middle school. Since just this one school already houses grades 7 through 12, it will soon becomes grades 6-12. Due to this transition, Food For America had an extra 100+ little kids running around. Besides the chaos, the Margaretta FFA students handled this hectic event with maturity and made a good name for the Margaretta FFA chapter.

The 5th and 6th graders enjoyed a meal that consisted of hotdogs and baked beans.… Continue reading

Like dandelions in the front yard, PETA constantly tries to reappear and bring negative light to the Ag industry. However, we must remember to shine focus onto the positive events happening in the industry. The Versailles FFA  is doing their part to educate consumers by sponsoring the 36^th annual Farm Day for nearly 700 students from Darke, Shelby, and Miami county elementary schools. Designed to teach children about where their food comes from and how the American farm operates, this year Farm Day was held at Schrader Farms outside of Versailles on Boyer Road on May 13^th.

Covering all aspects of agriculture, the farm was set up into stations which were led by Versailles FFA students . At the French Fries station, students discussed the potato and enjoyed a cup of French Fries. The wildlife station, presented by Doug Steinbrunner of Darke County Soil and Water Conservation District, allowed the students to learn about wildlife while feeling many animal furs. … Continue reading

As a young freshman that was unsure if she really wanted to join the FFA, Jodie Brand stumbled into the organization with a little push from her parents. It wasn’t until after a silly Parli-Pro practice that Jodie realized the potential held within the FFA.  One simple afternoon spiraled into a deep love for the FFA and developed her into a young woman that is ready to tackle the world.

“To me, the FFA is no longer an organization through the high school but instead, a part of my everyday life that I will cherish even long after it is all over. Through this organization, I think it is safe to say, that my fellow senior classmates and I have met people we never thought we would, reached heights that we never knew were possible, and expanded our horizons farther than we can reach.”

The new graduate from Versailles High School participated in a wide spectrum of CDEs and other state and national events through her four years of high school.… Continue reading

On Friday May 13, the second graders from Colonel Crawford traveled to the high school to learn about farm animals, tractors, plants, and many more aspects of agriculture. Around 60 second graders visited 13 stations that educated them about farm life. Among the stations were: pigs, sheep, horses, poultry, goats, dairy, steers, tractors, biotechnology, plants, and woodworking. At these stations students learned about the breeds, parts, and show management, what food and by products come from each animal and general care for the animals. While at the horse station they got to take a ride down the driveway which was a highlight for most. At the tractors they learned safety, parts, the use of the electronic GPS equipment, and what tractors are used for. During the plant station, students learned about diseases, plant structure, different equipment used to plant crops, and how the plants grow. They also got to plant their own green bean seed to take home and grow.… Continue reading

After successfully raising more than $100,000  in the first year of a new grass-roots campaign that provided funds to local FFA chapters throughout the country, the nation’s leading fence manufacturer has announced its decision to make this campaign an annual event.

Early last year, Peoria, Ill.-based Keystone Steel and Wire Co., maker of Red Brand fence, launched its “Home Grown” initiative, a program to benefit FFA through its Red Brand agricultural fencing sales division. For every roll of Red Brand agricultural fencing purchased by a participating retailer, $1 is donated to a designated local FFA chapter or chapters of their choice.

In the first year, more than $100,000 was donated by Red Brand and distributed by dealers to 704 FFA chapters. On average, local FFA chapters received $400. An FFA chapter in Platte, S.D., was awarded more than $4,000.

“Red Brand’s financial support of FFA is critically important to growing and developing stronger FFA experiences for students at the local level of our organization,” said National FFA Foundation executive director Rob Cooper.… Continue reading

The officers of the Riverdale FFA traveled to Camp Muskingum on a retreat to increase teamwork and discuss activities to do for the upcoming year.  The officers participated in group activities which promoted teamwork, communication, and problem solving as well as group discussions where they formed goals and learned each other’s leadership styles.… Continue reading

The National FFA Organization has selected 50 outstanding young people to participate in the 2011 New Century Farmer program. This exclusive, highly competitive program develops young men and women committed to pursuing a career in production agriculture. The New Century Farmer program is sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business; Rabo AgriFinance; Case IH; and CSX Corporation; with media partner Successful Farming as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

Participants representing 23 states will take part in an intensive seminar July 24-30 in Johnston, Iowa. They will learn from each other and industry experts during a series of workshops and sessions. Topics will include the global marketplace, farm financing, demographic trends and risk management. New Century Farmers will hear from motivating and informative keynote speakers who will educate them on the risks and rewards involved with agriculture production. In addition to classroom learning, students will experience the latest developments in agricultural technology.
… Continue reading

Recently, on May 5 and 6, the Miami Trace FFA Chapter attended the State convention held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. The Chapter attended the 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th sessions of the convention. There they listened to three speakers Drew Hastings, Rick Metzger, and Tiffany Rogers the National FFA Eastern Region VP. All the speakers gave great messages, and caught everybody’s attention.

Miami Trace was represented in the State Chorus by Sarah Boston, Nathan Bowers, Josh Monroe, Tanner Mick, and Sarah Peterson. The Judging teams excelled  this year in State Judging. The General Livestock Team received 1^st in State this year with team member Colt Penwell receiving first in the State; also participating in the contest were Jamie Payton in 8^th place, Austin Chester with 10^th, and Trevor Kirkpatrick placing in 28^th. The Meats team placed 5^th overall in state with Tanner Mick placing 7^th overall in State.… Continue reading

On May 5 and 6, 14 members and three chaperones, Andrea Cole, Sammy Guinther, and Advisor Krista Betti of the Colonel Crawford FFA/Pioneer chapter attended the state FFA convention held in Columbus at the Ohio Expo Center.  Members competed in various online state skills Career Development Events prior to convention, and Brent Rossman and Hannah Yaussy competed in the meats contest during convention, and placed 57th and 97th respectively out of 160 participants.
Students attended sessions with many awards, speakers, and entertainment.  The 1st session hosted many proficiency awards and keynote speaker Chad Hymas.   The Colonel Crawford FFA Chapter was awarded a certificate by Children’s Hospital, for donating over $200.  They also received a plaque for donating $200 to the CROP organization.  Jessica Millenbaugh and Jessica Lohr were our representatives to receive the awards.
On May 6th, the second day of the Ohio FFA convention the chapter took a tour to Bob Evans test kitchen, Graeter’s ice cream, Anthony Thomas Chocolate factory and the career and talent show. … Continue reading

On Wednesday, April 27, Colonel Crawford/ Pioneer FFA students participated in the Envirothon at Camp Dakota in Defiance, Ohio.  The Envirothon is a challenging and fun event.  It is composed of five contest areas, which are designed to test your team’s knowledge of soils, wildlife, forestry, aquatic ecology and current environment issues.  The Envirothon is a competition for the whole team, not individual.  Each of the teams will fill out one collective answer sheet for the five stations. The cooperative decision making, free exchange of ideas and pooling of information are an important part of the learning process and which gives the Envirothon it unique appeal.  Each of the session was 30 minutes long and then lunch was served when they were done testing.  Colonel Crawford had two teams of the following students’.  Team one consisted of Katelyn Lutz, Codi Eblin, and Ryan Eblin, this team was 47th.  The second team consisted of Hannah Yaussy, Brent Rossman, and Roy Lucis, this team placed 22nd. … Continue reading

On April 15, six young ladies of the Colonel Crawford/Pioneer FFA chapter attend the Promising Young Women Leadership Conference held in Columbus at the Ohio State University Ag Campus in the Ag Administration Auditorium.   The theme for this event was “Tradition of Excellence.”  After registration and the introduction, the speaker Linda Martin talked about being the director of the college at OSU for the Ag. Department and how she was the first female in many of her jobs in a field dominated by men.  After the keynote speaker the ladies split up into session to listen to the proper ways of how to dress, eat, and meet with people on a professional level.  The other session was of how to use the media sites on the internet to get yourself out there as a professional and how they can help you be noticed.  After lunch of chicken, green beans, potatoes, and desert, we had a speaker from Cargill, which is a huge company all over the world, speak to us about how Cargill has helped out many of people all over the world.… Continue reading

A tractor troubleshooting team of Dustin Cole and Cody Snook from the Liberty-Benton FFA traveled to Wyandot Tractor in Upper Sandusky for the District 4 Agricultural and Industrial Diagnostics Career Development Event on February 17.  This team placed second in the event, missing the opportunity to advance to the state competition and qualify for a minimum of $1000 each in college scholarships by 15 points. While participating in this competition, students had to inspect four machines in order to find and fix two different problems on each piece of equipment.  They had twenty minutes to complete this task at each station.  Machines in the competition included a John Deere 318D skid-steer loader, John Deere 4720 compact tractor, John Deere 6115D tractor with loader, and a John Deere 8530 tractor.  Also, as part of their event, the students had troubleshoot an electrical components station and take a online written test over tractor maintenance and operation. … Continue reading

The Zane Trace FFA Chapter held their annual Ag Olympics competition during lunch on Wednesday, May 18.  Chapter members competed in events such as the egg toss, tug-of-war, milk chug and cow milking and earned points for their class.  During the event, the members also enjoyed pizza and had fun watching the goofy competitions take place.  After the events were complete, the Sophomore class took home the overall Ag Olympics Trophy for 2011, followed by the Seniors, Freshmen and Juniors in that order.  Thanks to all members who planned and participated in this year’s Ag Olympics.

Picture: Zane Trace FFA member Nick Ganus concentrates during the egg toss.… Continue reading